MEDIA RELEASE
15.04.26
Statement from Wairoa Mayor Craig Little
Much has been reported on my comment that, as a nation, I fear that we may be
becoming woke. This has been misinterpreted and misreported as suggesting that
Wairoa District Council took a cavalier approach to the recent weather event caused by
Cyclone Vaianu, and that it did not care and failed to prepare for the forecasted weather
event. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
The reality is that for the Wairoa District Council, the cyclone did not meet the criteria to
be classified as an emergency as defined in the Civil Defence and Emergency
Management Act. Since Cyclone Gabriel e, Wairoa District Council has put in an
enormous amount of readiness work with our communities, including the development
of localised resilience plans, the establishment of local “community champions” as an
integral part of our Civil Defence response and the establishment of sound Civil Defence
processes. The risks posed by Cyclone Vaianu were readily able to be dealt with by our
wel -prepared local Civil Defence team and emergency services and did not require a
state of emergency response under the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Act.
For the Wairoa District Council, Cyclone Vaianu was, unfortunately, not our first rodeo.
As with all significant weather events, we had been tracking Cyclone Vaianu for a week
as it descended through the Pacific from the tropics, constantly monitoring the reports
on its direction and force. By late last week, that work had been coordinated with the
National and Regional Civil Defence Group Control through multi-agency meetings and
information sharing.
However, the real work in the Civil Defence space starts with our communities and
ensuring they are as prepared as possible for a range of potential hazards. The reviews of
Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence undertaken by Mike Bush, and the National review of Civil
Defence undertaken by Sir Jerry Mateparae fol owing Cyclone Gabriel e, both identified
the need for Civil Defence responses to be built from the community up, and that
resilience needs to be developed in communities as a priority, rather than relying on Civil
Defence being centralised in Napier and/or Hastings. This reflects the reality that when a
really serious Civil Defence response is required, transportation and communication
links outside Wairoa wil likely be compromised. That is why we have been working on
building resilience within our own communities.
P +64 6 838 7309
W www.wairoadc.govt.nz
p PO Box 54, Wairoa 4160, Hawke’s Bay
E [email address]
A Coronation Square, Queen Street, Wairoa
MEDIA RELEASE
I cannot, and do not purport to speak for any other Mayor in any other district. They need
to make their calls as to whether to declare a state of emergency based on their own level
of preparedness, their resources and the challenges facing their districts. What I can say
is that, based on the information presented to us by HB Civil Defence and Emergency
Management, there was no need to declare a state of emergency in Wairoa.
I stand by my comments that there is an overenthusiasm to reach for the tool of declaring
a state of emergency. That is a special power that should be exercised only when
necessary, in situations where the local Civil Defence and emergency services cannot
deal with the situation. There is a danger that declaring a state of emergency when it is
not absolutely necessary diverts resources such as emergency services, FENZ, St.
John's, and NZ Defence Force from areas where those resources may actually be needed.
There is also the possibility that, by declaring states of emergency too readily, the force
and importance of such a declaration is diminished. People become complacent when
there is a constant tendency to cry wolf. It would be unfortunate if, by unnecessarily
making a declaration, the force and importance of that power were lost. It is evident that
an unnecessary state of emergency can cause panic and anxiety in the communities.
I am a firm believer that it is always better to err on the side of caution, and it is better to
be safe than sorry. We absolutely need to be prepared to respond to chal enges. However,
we do not need to declare a state of emergency to be prepared, and if a situation worsens,
a declaration can be made at any time. This was the point of my comment, which seems
to have been misunderstood by some. In fact, it could be argued that by constantly
reaching for the tool of making a declaration, we are moving further away from the need
for our communities to be engaged and prepared for Civil Defence matters on an ongoing
basis.
Ends
P +64 6 838 7309
W www.wairoadc.govt.nz
p PO Box 54, Wairoa 4160, Hawke’s Bay
E [email address]
A Coronation Square, Queen Street, Wairoa
